Money News Story

London house prices twice as high as the rest of England

In the past twenty years, house prices in the city of London have accelerated at a rapid pace. According to figures from the Lloyds Banking Group, they are now twice the price as the rest of the United Kingdom.

Moneywise reported that the average property in London cost £578,381 at the end of 2016, in comparison to £299,631 for the rest of England.

These figures have drastically changed since 1996, when the average house price in London was £105,267, which was 47 percent more than the rest of the UK, meaning that this figure has more than doubled over the past two decades.

This is good news for people who have already invested in the London housing market; but first time buyers are going to have a difficult time attempting to get onto the property ladder.

The City AM newspaper states: “The data doesn’t really highlight how unaffordable house prices in London are. They are currently 12 times the amount of the average yearly salary.”

Areas such as Hackney, which was once considered one of the most undesirable locations in London has experience the fastest growth with a house price increase of more than 700 percent.

In Westminster, house prices have seen a 648 percent increase and Southwark 626 percent.

Director of property market website Home.co.uk Doug Shephard states: “The increase in house price is deceptive when you take into consideration the rise in inflation and the depreciating pound.“

The majority of experts are predicting that the increase in house prices will slow down as the year progresses.

House prices, interest and inflation rates seem to be a hot topic at the moment. Economists are predicting various financial outcomes for the country as a result of Brexit, only time will tell how badly the economy will be affected.